Application of a web-based Environmental Data Management System at The Department of Energy s Naval Petroleum Reserves No.2

Transcription

1 Application of a web-based Environmental Data Management System at The Department of Energy s Naval Petroleum Reserves No.2

2 Agenda NPR-2 Background Overview of webedms Application of webedms to NPR-2 Creation of Legacy Data Management System using webedms Value-Added Benefits

3 NPR-2 Background Established in 1912, NPR-2 consists of 30,000 acres located in the southern San Joaquin Valley, approximately 25 miles southwest of Bakersfield, CA;

4 NPR-2 Background NPR-2 contains insitu oil and gas reserves; DOE administers oil and gas activities on NPR-2; Public Law No (1996) laid the framework for the proposed transfer of the NPR-2 from DOE to BLM; 15 current lessees formerly major oil companies, now small independents Operations: 100 s of wells Gauging facilities Sumps Transport pipelines Dehydration plants Oil and gas meters Tank settings Buildings Storage and equipment yards Compressor stations

5 Environmental Requirements Based on Interagency Agreement between DOE and BLM, DOE responsible for environmental conditions that exist up to the transfer date; Before the transfer, Federal government needed to know the site conditions so that an environmental cleanup account could be setup and funded; No comprehensive environmental surveys had been conducted on NPR-2, thus a Phase I ESA was necessary.

6 Phase I ESA and Recommendations ICF conducted a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (Phase I) on NPR-2 in Fall 2003; Key recommendation of Phase I was for the completion of a field reconnaissance of NPR-2 to identify and inventory oil field features and related environmental conditions;

7 The Challenge The field reconnaissance needed to be completed in a timely and cost-effective manner; Traditional survey methods using maps and notebooks not suited to the project because: size of the site time and budget constraints Needed a process that would: facilitate the acquisition of field data, allow for near real-time viewing of field findings, allow for the offsite management of the field team, allow for the establishment of a site-wide environmental baseline, allow managers to use the field data to develop remedial cost estimates, and establish a long term and easily accessible legacy data repository

8 The Tool IESI developed a web-based environmental data management system (webedms) to manage remediation projects; webedms is a web-based tool that facilitates the RI/FS process by: allowing geographically dispersed stakeholders to retrieve, sort, and analyze project data, documents and photographs via GIS front end module, allowing the user conduct 3D visualization of site conditions, and allowing the user conduct human health risk assessment screening

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10 Refining The Tool Adding Electronic Data Collection A 100% electronic field data collection program was developed to seamlessly upload field data to webedms Field data was uploaded to webedms daily. Trimble GeoXT sub-meter accuracy hand held GPS with integrated PDA Data Dictionary was developed for rapid and consistent entry to the PDA. It contained: a list of anticipated oil field features pull down menus to log feature attributes Digital Cameras were used to photo document site features Photos were linked directly to the features in the shapefiles

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12 Field Reconnaissance Team Daily Field Recon Tasks Tailgate Meeting Review the day s recon area Discuss special features of interest Discuss any modifications made by the Project Manager Daily Activities Field Data Collection Technicians (FDCT) Operated GPS units Collected feature attribute information (type of feature, condition, etc.) Photo-documentation of features Field GIS/Data Processor (FDP) Update shapefiles for each feature of interest QC previous days field data Support Field Recon Crew Organized logistics of daily field reconnaissance transects Performed daily data backup Post Field Recon Tasks FDCT Give FDCT GeoXT units and pack gear Prep gear for next day s field recon FDP Sends previous day s shapefiles and photo to home office Prep GeoXT maps for next day s recon Home Office GIS/Data Tasks GIS/Data Tech Uploaded and processed data transferred from FDP for display on webedms Performed secondary QA/QC on field data Managed webedms security and assigned passwords to off-site project team members

13 Applying The Tool Field work started 3rd week in May 2003; Daytime temperatures already in high 90s and low 100s; Work day altered to take advantage of relatively cool mornings; Original crew consisted of 3 FDCTs and 1 FDP;

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18 Project Statistics NPR-2 total area: 30,000 acres Distance walked by field reconnaissance team 750 miles Number of historic features logged electronically 2,300 features Number of supporting photographs acquired 5,000 photographs Field reconnaissance project duration 44 days Field reconnaissance data collection man hours 700 hrs

19 Using the Field Reconnaissance Data Primary purpose of the field reconnaissance was to: Document and inventory oil field features and identify conditions of potential environmental concern,and Develop cost estimates to complete remediation and restoration on NPR-2 webedms greatly expedited this process by: Providing a tool that allowed for the querying and sorting of field data by dozens of attributes.

20 Using the Field Reconnaissance Data Once the oil field features were sorted and categorized, remediation and restoration cost estimates were developed based on the following applicable regulations and requirements: DOE BLM Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources State of California If no relevant government or regulatory standard existed for a particular condition, ICF applied industry standards or developed assumptions

21 Summary Federal government needed to understand magnitude of remediation and restoration liabilities on NPR-2 to support proposed transfer; DOE requested that ICF conduct a Phase I and follow-up field reconnaissance of NPR-2; ICF and IESI, an imminent DOE Mentor-Protégé partnership, joined forces to propose a novel approach for conducting large-scale field reconnaissance.

22 Summary Cont. webedms was customized for use on NPR-2, which: eliminated the need for conventional mapping and logging techniques allowed for the digital collection of all field data standardized naming of features and attributes allowed stakeholders located across the country to view and analyze field data in near real-time via Internet significantly reduced the time (hence cost) to complete the work facilitated the development of remediation and restoration cost estimates

23 Value Added Benefits of webedms Federal government now has a legacy environmental data management system for NPR-2 that: Is 100% digital (includes GIS and database components) Is web-based Is comprehensive in scope and detail Is flexible (new GIS layers/data can be easily added) Is highly photo-documented (~5,000 linked photos ) Is relatively inexpensive to maintain and manage Allows for human health risk screening, if needed

24 Value Added Benefits of webedms To quote Anthony Dammer, Director of DOE s Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves The use of digital technology in field reconnaissance work is going to be the norm at some point in the future. It was truly groundbreaking for DOE to be able to use such technology for a project of the magnitude as our NPR-2 field. Jim Killen, Director of the Naval Petroleum Reserves in California (NPRC), which includes NPR-2 said The use of digital tools like the ones used on the NPR-2 assessment work really streamlined the whole process. Now we have a very good baseline of environmental conditions that will help us to be good stewards of this federal property.

25 Contact Information For more information about webedms and electronic field data collection contact: ICF Consulting Gary Clendenin Integrated Environmental Services, Inc Ron Gregg